SpeakEasy

Inspiration

A close friend of one of our team mates works at a school for the deaf and teaches sign language. We were struck by the disconnect between the hearing and the deaf given all the technologies and wearable devices available. We wanted to tap the impressive tracking of the Leap Motion sensor to help bridge this communication gap in a wearable and accessible way.

Target User

There exist other efforts to transcribe sign language using motion tracking, but they rely on handheld hardware, similar to a tablet that you have to carry around. Our technology is wearable, handsfree, and affordable (the Leap Motion sensor costs around $80, while the tablet technology costs $800). The SpeakEasy combines a wearable Leap sensor, which will allow a user to use both hands to sign, with a web application, which makes the interpretation portable.

Key Features

Our product uses the LeapMotion API to discern both static hand signs and gestures. The interpreted ASL is then translated to a text file displayed in the web application.

Further Iterations

Audio to text interpreter to handle communication from speaker to signer. Integration with the Myo armband to better discern gestures and translate signs in facial region.